Alex Jacques says he would be ‘astounded’ if two current F2 stars weren’t racing in Formula 1 one day

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As the main feeder series to Formula 1, the FIA Formula 2 championship has produced a number of talents who have gone on to do big things in the pinnacle of single-seater motorsport.

Speaking exclusively to F1 Oversteer, F1 commentator Alex Jacques has had his say on who he thinks will be the next two drivers to get the call-up to race in Formula 1 machinery.

Having worked in the commentary box during Formula 2 races for 10 years, the voice of F1 TV’s coverage has seen the likes of Charles Leclerc, George Russell and Oscar Piastri dominate in the second tier before going on to win Grands Prix in F1.

When asked who he thinks are the next two drivers in line to make their mark on F1, Jacques succinctly told F1 Oversteer, “It’s Lindblad and Dunne.”

READ MORE: Alex Jacques believes Mercedes ‘regret’ one Kimi Antonelli career decision after difficult Belgian Grand Prix

Alex Dunne has proved his worth in Formula 2, and Red Bull believes Arvid Lindblad is ‘the real deal’

“Lindblad is so highly rated by Red Bull,” the commentator elaborated. “It’s just a case of he’s just got to carry on scoring consistent results, and I think his path to Formula 1 is there for the taking.

“It might be next year, he might have to wait, but I’d be astounded, given the way that Red Bull runs that program. Obviously, there is new leadership, but the person running the program hasn’t changed there. The CEO and team principal has, but the person running that program, Sebastian Vettel’s old race engineer, Rocky, has remained in position.

“They have a tried and tested methodology of assessing drivers, and they believe he’s the real deal. So he’s just, he’s just preparing himself by running in the championship.”

Lando Norris tipped Lindblad as a driver we’ll see in F1 in the future after the young Brit impressed Red Bull engineers during his first FP1 session as a test driver during the British Grand Prix weekend.

“Conversely, Alex Dunne had to step up from Formula 3 and prove that he belonged in Formula 2,” Jacques continued, “that was his first goal. Not only that, he’s been superb; his pole position [in Spa] was absolutely brilliant.

“Teams are going to be bright enough to know when you just get disqualified or a penalty and there’s a bit of blame involved, and teams know that when it’s a technicality and it’s nothing to do with you, they don’t raise an eyebrow.

“So, if either of them falls short in the championship because of the penalties of this weekend, teams will go, ‘No, that’s fine. That might say second place, but that’s the nature of a championship like Formula 2.’”

Dunne also impressed in his first outing with McLaren during FP1 of the Austrian Grand Prix, which led Karun Chandhok to advise the Papaya team to loan the youngster to Cadillac ahead of their first season of F1 in 2026.

READ MORE: All you need to know about Red Bull junior Arvid Lindblad including his parents

There was ‘admiration’ for Arvid Lindblad and Alex Dunne after their performance in the rain during the Belgian GP weekend

Both of the drivers Jacques mentioned put on dazzling performances in the soaking wet conditions of the Ardennes forest during the F2 races of the Belgian Grand Prix weekend.

They crossed the line in a one-two formation in favour of Dunne, but were later stripped of their respective race win and podium due to separate infringements.

The Irishman was deemed to have failed to engage the start set-up procedure at the start of the formation lap. He was slapped with a 10-second penalty, which demoted him from first to ninth.

Lindblad was disqualified altogether for not respecting the minimum tyre pressures during the race. This saw him lose out on his second-place finish and a valuable haul of points.

Despite the penalties, both drivers were able to showcase their racecraft in the tricky conditions and still impressed, with Jacques adding, “They both had outstanding moments in really tricky conditions, like impossibly difficult conditions. We were actually watching at the side of the track and preparing.

“We were just doing our technical rehearsal for F1 TV, and we were watching Eau Rouge, because why wouldn’t you if you had a chance to do that?

“And I’m saying to Jolyon, who’s a former champion at the second tier, this is too wet. This is too wet. And he’s like, ‘No, let’s just see for a couple more laps whether they can get through it,’ and I just love that contrast in it.

“Obviously, F2 has had some tricky history at that racetrack back in 2019. But I have to say, the feeling in the paddock afterwards was that the drivers really did distinguish themselves in those conditions as a group, as a grid; there was admiration for the driving standards on Sunday. It was wetter than anything F1 raced in.”

It will be interesting to see who, out of Dunne and Lindblad, if not both, will be on the F1 grid in 2026. It was previously reported that Dunne’s chances of getting a seat next season could be higher than those of Lindblad’s due to the young Irishman’s superior position in the 2025 F2 standings.